


Nearly

by Seven_the_Maknae



Category: GOT7
Genre: 2jae if you squint, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst with a Happy Ending, BamBam is a cockblock, Drinking, Jackson Wang/Mark Tuan - Freeform, M/M, Markson are idiots, Mutual Pining, Yugeom is the hot prof
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 06:02:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16487171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seven_the_Maknae/pseuds/Seven_the_Maknae
Summary: They nearly started flirting.He nearly saw him.But sometimes life prevents certain possibilities.





	Nearly

They'd made it. Finally, they could leave High School and discover themselves in College. As always, they had a dance-night as their last event at school. Mark hated it. The teachers managed to create an un-comfortable atmosphere, the parents an awkward one and all the drunken out of their minds students an annoying one.   
He thought he stated his disapproval clear enough, as he wore a deep frown on his face and sat at the exact same place since the party had begun, but he was proven wrong.   
"Hey beautiful, watcha doin' here all alone?" BamBam, at least that's what everyone preferred to call him because they were unable to pro-nounce his real name, leaned on the table next to him. He probably meant to look cool and casual but rather seemed like he needed the support, swaying back and forth and looking at Mark with unfocused eyes.   
"Well, I am fine. You can go and try your luck with someone else, dar-ling", Mark sassed. He didn't like being rude to other people in general but he really didn't want to deal with the drunken energy bundle. Mark couldn't help but sigh in a relieved way when he saw Jackson, BamBam's best friend, making his way in their direction.  
"Sorry for that, Mark, I literally turned my back on him for two seconds and he was gone", Jackson hummed into Mark's ear causing a slight shudder from the older one. Though before Mark could respond BamBam had grabbed Jackson in a warning way and jogged away. Jackson shot Mark an apologetic look and followed his best friend.   
Mark was alone again.   
\---  
So this was it. The day Mark had anticipated and feared for so long. He had to crane his neck in order to see the roof of his new home. His college campus was beautiful with lots of trees and close-cropped lawns, a big cafeteria that the hoped sold kind of enjoyable food, and too much buildings holding even more auditoriums. Hearing a distinct ring of bells from the church in town, Mark glanced at his watch.   
"Fuck!", he whisper-screamed as he realised that he would be too late for the planned meeting with his new roommate. They had texted for a while now and decided that they would meet on campus and find their room together. Even though Youngjae seemed like a nice guy Mark didn't want to arrive late to their first encounter, so he started to run.   
Seeing was rather hard thought because of the several cartons in his tight grip so it really was not surprising when Mark ran straight into a hard chest.   
"Shit, sorry. Didn't see you", he mumbled and continued his path, once again overlooking his victim which had a pleased smile plastered over his face and which threw an ironic "Nice seeing you again, Mark!" after him. The latter didn't hear him either, long gone rushing to Youngjae.  
\---  
Mark groaned. Who in his right mind would decide to hold their lesson at 8am? He disliked this teacher already. He groaned again.   
"Good morning, Mark. Did you sleep well? Are you as excited as me? I've heard so many great things about Mr. Kim". Mark groaned a third time for good measure. Of course, perfect Jinyoung would be happy and fully awake when it was still night time for Mark.   
"Mark, are you okay?", his so-called friend asked him in a mockingly worried tone. Mark huffed. The teacher, Kim Yugyeom, arrived and started his lesson. Mark couldn't help but giggle quietly because of his buddy. Jinyoung observed the tall man standing in front of them like he was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen.   
Jinyoung never reacted that much to anything and so Mark rather starred at him than looking at the door that opened ten minutes after the lesson had begun. He could hear a quiet excuse, instantly recognizing the voice but deciding to let it slip as his friend was way more interesting at the moment, mumbling in a fascinated way and taking notes already.   
Mark didn't notice the way Jackson's eyes lit up when he spotted the familiar red head in the crowd. The same red head that ran into him a few weeks ago and that he had so desperately searched on the campus ever since. Mark also didn't notice the look of disappointment on the blond man's face when he was being ignored yet another time.  
\---  
Vacation was over and the students returned to college like a swarm of bees returning from work in the fields. The campus was filled with happy reunions and unmotivated people dragging their feet over the ground while the parking area was filled with lots of cars.  
Mark loved his family and he hated staying away for too long as he got homesick all too soon. Therefore he thoroughly enjoyed the time at home. He felt all re-energized and calm until… Well, until he got to the parking area.   
When he first arrived, his parents had driven him to college and left quickly as they had a long way home so he never noticed just how many damned cars there were. Mark had very little patience left and the thought of driving right into the campus and parking in front of his apartment building became more and more annoying with every parking lot that seemed to be free but was occupied by a damned small car.   
He was close to giving up and driving all the way home again when finally a free lot came in sight. Mark squealed in delight (which he would deny to have made if he was ever to be asked about it) and drove to the spot. He indicated his interest in making this beautiful free lot his when suddenly a car appeared right in front of him and took it.   
Mark... Well, Mark was not happy. "What the fuck, you asshole! That was my spot! Get your own, dumbass, there are rules and values in our society which you can be glad for! Otherwise I would take your damn car and shove it right up your potato ass until you cry for your mum", he screamed after he'd opened his window.   
The asshole with his ugly soft blonde hair had the audacity to smirk and... go. That god-damned sexy clown would reappear somewhere and Mark swore that he would find him and teach him a lesson. He ignored the tingling in his lower abdomen when his mind threw several possibilities of punishments for the handsome stranger at him.  
\---  
Not a stranger, but a kind of well known person from High School had made himself comfortable in Mark's mind. Jackson Wang, the blonde god of fencing and the thief of his parking lot, had crossed his thoughts more than once since Mark remembered his name.  
At first he'd done it subconsciously, then with purpose, as he tried to find his old acquaintance on campus, in the cafeteria and even while he sat in his lessons. Jackson seemed to have vanished ever since that day and Mark grew more and more frustrated.   
One day he reached a new low and asked his friend from High School, Amber, if she knew about Jackson. Amber shook her head after a short moment of thinking and tried to small-talk Mark into a date afterwards. He declined very gentleman-like (by whining about all the essays he had to write and pretending to get a phone call when she asked for his number) and hurried away from her, hoping that she wouldn't try it again - for her sake.  
After a few more days Mark had given up. It seemed like he had imagined the man to be Jackson. Maybe he was a bit lonely and his brain tried to make up known people in order to be less so. Maybe he still had that teeny tiny crush on his former schoolmate.  
After his insight in things he decided to make real friends. He started talking to Youngjae, his roommate, who had been pleasantly surprised. Jinyoung was kind of close already so it was not that hard to spend more time with him.   
Soon the three of them grew close. Close enough for Mark to tell them about his Jackson-hallucination and for them to laugh about it for a bit and then never talking about it again. Mark was so happy that he forgot about him.   
\---  
Blonde hair with dark roots, a handsome face and... crutches? Mark couldn't help the tiny scream of horror in his mind as pictures of terrible accidents rushed through his thoughts, one scenario more painful and horrible than the other - Mark and dramatic? Never - and debated his possibilities.   
Either he could ignore him, saving himself from the awkward small-talk they would have and from regretting it the next days, or he could go over to Jackson, be really awkward and weird, excusing himself for his rant at the parking area and being… Well, Mark didn't know what. His decision was quick enough though and he hurried really elegantly and sexily to them man.   
"Heey, haven't seen you for an eternity...", he harrumphed "...in a while I mean. How've you been doing, mate? Crutches, huh? What happened?" He smiled a bit too much, confused about the shit that left his mouth a few seconds ago, confused about the way his heartbeat seemed to be going faster than normally.  
Jackson looked at him neutrally for a few moments, causing Mark to shift uncomfortably from one leg to the other, then smiled in a cute manner and explained his condition. It wasn't as awful as Mark had feared at first but he still pitied him enough to grab his books and his backpack.   
They talked on their way to Jackson's dorm, exchanging stories from their past in High School, and remembering things together. It was nice, having someone share the same memories as him. Jackson made him feel a bit more at home and Mark was scared of the impact that one simple conversation held but he shoved the unpleasant feeling away.  
"Well, it certainly was nice talking to you. We never really got the chance in High School, huh? Also thank you for your help”,Jackson nodded in the direction of where Mark had placed his belongings and grinned. Mark shook his head and told him that of course he would help an old pal in need. Then he winked. He didn't know why either.   
\---  
His phone buzzed. His phone never buzzed. His parents always called and Jinyoung and Youngjae always searched for him directly when they needed something from him, so naturally both Mark and Youngjae exchanged a confused look.  
Carefully, Mark took his neglected phone and opened the message.  
>>Hey Mark!:) This is Jackson. I got your number from Jinyoung.<<  
Mark gulped. He stared at the screen, stared at Youngjae, stared at the screen. "Who is it? Tell me already!", his roommate whined from beside him. When Mark told him they went silent again. Youngjae looked at him expectantly and fake coughed.   
"What is it, Youngjae?", Mark asked fake sweet as he rolled his eyes. "Answer him. Like right now.” Youngjae loved the possibility of helping Mark get into a relationship. He often left Mark alone in their dorm and was planning on sharing his dorm with his lover next year but knowing Mark, the redhead would ignore his new roommate as well. Youngjae wanted Mark to be in a relationship with a man that cared for him before he could concentrate on his own.   
Mark typed in a few words and deleted them again. Typing, deleting, typing, deleting and so on until Youngjae had enough. He snatched the phone and replied Jackson, hastily pressing send before Mark could wrestle his phone back.   
Mark took a glance at the message and thanked Youngjae silently. Youngjae smiled.   
Mark:  
>>Oh hi! Nice to hear from you:)<<  
When Mark looked up again, meeting Youngjae's soft gaze with a flushed one, they both started to smile. Mark still felt a bit unsure about all this, but Jackson taking the next step by asking for his number could only be a good sign, right?  
\---  
Well, he was wrong.   
They had agreed to see each other again, meeting at the campus and walking to a nearby restaurant in the city. It wasn't anything too fancy but Mark figured he still could count their encounter as a date, since both of them seemed to have put a lot of thought into their appearance - at least Mark had, redressing three times and then putting on make-up only to wipe it away and redo it, barley leaving time for styling his hair.  
They talked a lot, they laughed and they exchanged meaningful glanced without knowing what they meant. Mark certainly did feel happy. For the first time in quite a while he wasn't afraid of falling for Jackson. He felt his heart flutter a few times and he welcomed it. It felt right.   
When the end of their date neared they playfully fought over the bill and decided that each of them would pay for the other as no-one seemed to be willing to give up first. Afterwards they left the restaurant and waited for that mysterious friend that Jackson told him would pick him up at 5pm.   
"Ah, I see her. Well, I will go to her so she doesn't have to walk too far", Jackson stated and smiled at Mark while pulling him into a hug.   
"I had a lot of fun today. I hope we will repeat that any time soon?". The last sentence was posed like a question and Mark didn't hesitate for murmur an "Of course".   
Watching Jackson go was neither tacky nor was it creepy in any way. For sure it wasn't to figure out the relationship between Jackson and that friend of his. At least that's what Mark told himself when he focused on the beautiful man in the distance.  
Jackson opened his arms for a hug. Mark didn't approve but he could not forbid the man to hug his friends. He felt relieve wash through him none the less when they parted again. Not for long as it seemed though. Jackson cupped his friend's stupid face with his dumb attractive hands and leaned in closer to kiss her. On her lips. In a not so friendly way.   
Mark had been wrong to trust his gut feeling. He ignored the nagging pain in his chest and returned to his room, telling himself that he didn't care and letting only one tear of disappointment slip.   
\---  
To say Mark was cold towards Jackson was an understatement. He ig-nored his messages, he only greeted him half-heartedly when he met him and hurried away as fast as he could. He knew he acted irrationally and unfair but Mark couldn't stop his heart from aching each time he saw the man and remembered him kissing another girl.  
"Hey Mark!", Jackson greeted him and hugged him. Mark stiffened a bit and hummed something in response.   
"What have you been up to lately dude, you didn't reply to my messages nor did we talk in a while. Did I do something wrong?", Jackson asked, still not letting go from their hug.  
"No, nothing, just busy", Mark mumbled and wriggled his way out of the comforting arms, shuffling away. Jackson called after him with worry clear in his voice but the older one decided not to turn again. He needed some time to lick his wounds before he could act all dude and bro with his crush.   
\---   
The next time they met was at a freshman party. Mark didn't enjoy being there but Jinyoung that little shit had forced him to come by threatening him in some concerning ways. Just as he was about to make a quiet escape Mark felt a hand on his shoulder. The strong grip indicated the state of his now forced partner of conversation.   
Mark turned and saw two beautiful brown eyes. Eyes that he avoided to see lately.   
"Markie-Pooh", Jackson whined and pouted which Mark did not find endearing at all, no. "Do you hate me, Markie?" Mark melted under the sad gaze and shook his head no with a soft smile.   
Jackson sighed in relief and hugged Mark, putting all his weight on the sober one.   
"Why are you denying my existence then?", he whispered in Mark's ear. Mark huffed both because of the dramatic way Jackson had put it and the sensation of his lips so close to his skin. What should he tell him? He didn't want to lie anymore and Jackson wouldn't remember tomorrow for sure.   
"Well, I kind of have feelings for you, like a lot, and I may have misinterpreted your friendly behaviour towards me as you reciprocating them. So when you kissed that girl, your girlfriend I suppose, I got jealous because that's just who I am, a possessive little shit, and got mad at you when it was me being at fault. I'm sorry".  
Jackson took a step back. His face was pale. Then kind of green. Then he ran.  
\---  
Jackson:  
>>Hey Mark. I have thought about the things you told me yesterday and I came to the conclusion that I need time. I'm sorry.<<  
Well, fuck.  
\---  
Another party. Yay. As Mark was even sadder, drowning himself in self-pity and Netflix, he was once again forced to attend. Jaebum, Youngjae's boyfriend, had a big ass mansion and an even bigger lake next to it. Naturally, Mark had sneaked his way outside and sat down close to the pond.   
He threw stones into the water, disrupting the beautiful night sky it reflected. After a while he felt a presence next to him. He could reduce the number of people that would sit themselves next to him to three and two of them wouldn't just sit there but scream at him to join the party. So Jackson it was. Mark wasn't ready so he kept quiet.   
He still was hurt. Yes, he may have shocked Jackson, but to distance himself from Mark just because he was gay or whatever, well, that wasn't fair. So no, Mark wouldn't break the silence first. He admired the stars that seemed so far away and so indifferent to what happened on earth. They made his problems seem so much smaller.   
"The sky is beautiful",Jackson breathed. Mark nodded.   
"I didn't know you were friends with Jaebum. How come?", he then asked, clearly avoiding the elephant in the room.   
"Okay, Jackson, what do you want?”, the older one snapped and finally turned his face to see Jackson's. His eyes were glassy as if he was on the verge of crying - it broke Mark's heart. Again.  
"Look, Mark. I- I am sorry. I really am. Your confession was so sudden and I… had to think about some things".   
Mark stared into Jackson's eyes, searching for a sign of dishonesty or disgust, but he found none. He kept his gaze locked on the gorgeous man right in front of him. The night sky seemed less impressive now.   
\---  
Laughter. One could hear their laughter through the whole hallway. Mark and Jackson wiped their tears away, holding their stomachs that ached already and wheezing because of the lack of oxygen left in their lungs.   
As they calm down, they smile at each other. Carefully, Mark reaches his hand out to take the other man's into his own. After caressing it with his thumb he asks Jackson if that was okay with him.   
The man was blushing furiously but he nodded. He nodded and pressed a chaste kiss on to skin of Mark's cheek, which left the latter surprised but smiling over both ears.   
"So, what did you do yesterday?", the blond man asked with a wavy voice, obviously trying to change the topic as fast as possible. His hand stayed in Mark’s though. They interlaced their fingers and each of them threw a quick glance at their joined area.   
\---  
A pyjama party. What an excellent idea.   
Mark had lost a bet with Youngjae so he had to accept it.   
At least he could cuddle with Jackson as they were both lying on one mattress. It was late already and everyone around them was fast asleep. The only men awake were the blonde and the red-haired one in the corner of the room.   
They were whispering about their plans and their thoughts of the future. Which just a few inches between their noses, Mark often had the urge to just lean in and kiss Jackson, but he held back in order not to rush things.   
At least he thought so. Then there were lips on his. The kiss was short and innocent and left both of them desperate for more. Mark leaned in and kissed him again. He couldn't help the sigh that escaped him and that caused Jackson to smile and break the kiss.   
With their foreheads still touching he murmured:  
"I just... Talking about the future helped me realize that there is so little time. Too little time to waste it over irrational fears and boundaries."  
"God, I like you so much. No, not liking, I-",  
Mark was interrupted by a hard kiss on the lips.  
\---  
New semester, new roommates, new couples.   
They studied together. They cooked together. They slept together.  
It felt so natural und normal to both of them already, that they never even thought about if they were moving too fast. They knew they were happy together and they had never regretted moving in together until now.   
That night, they both had to write a tiring essay. They had worked on it for hours now and chuckled when they both exclaimed their need for a break at the same time.   
They ate a lot of noodles lately, as that was the only thing they could cook, but neither of them would complain. They listened and sung along to their music and sometimes they even danced together. Mark loved the slow dance late at night when no-one could see them or want anything from them. It was just the two of them and it was perfect.   
Maybe Mark could even overcome his homesickness as long as there was his boyfriend wrapped around him at 3am in their kitchen.


End file.
